Braves use first-half run to down county rival Trinity

The Brownstown Central girls closed the first half on an 8-0 run and led throughout the second half to defeat Trinity Lutheran 55-42 Tuesday night.

Brownstown stretched their lead to 41-26 on a 3-point basket by Tayler Garland with three minutes left in the third period and were on top 45-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

“I thought in spurts we played really well,” Braves coach Karla Rieckers said. “I thought we played aggressive defense. When we blocked out and got the rebound, I thought we got the ball out and pushed the ball and got a few fast break baskets.”

The Cougars held a 37-24 advantage in rebounds with Abby Hackman topping the Cougars with 14.

Both teams struggled with turnovers in the first quarter resulting in a 14-12 lead for the Braves.

Trinity committed 10 and Brownstown five turnovers in the opening quarter.

Kristen Stuckwisch had a field goal and was 4-for-4 in free throws for the Braves, while Jodi Goecker had a basket and three free throws to lead the Cougars in the opening period.

Keeli Darlage started the second quarter scoring with a 3-pointer, and she followed with a pair of free throws to give the Braves a 19-12 lead.

Trinity came back with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 21-21 on a 3-pointer by Morgan Gabbard at 4:55.

The Braves finished the half on an 8-0 run to lead 29-21 at the break. Grace Jaynes and Garland added 3-pointers in the period for the Braves, while Piper Acton had four points for Trinity in the quarter.

All 11 girls that played for Brownstown had either a rebound or score, and Rieckers said she likes her team’s depth, saying she had play up to 10 players.

Trinity coach Mike Lang said the Braves’ 8-0 run at the end of the second quarter was the difference in the outcome.

“We lost Garland and she buried a 3,” he said. “Brownstown is a solid team. Karla does a great job with them. They play so hard. They get in the passing lane so well. I thought we had a couple missed opportunities where we didn’t take advantage of some height advantage.”

Gabbard topped the Cougars (0-3) with 17 points.

Brownstown (3-1) will host Mitchell Thursday night. The game was changed from Friday because of Brownstown’s football game at Lawrenceburg.